The storied rivalry between WWE Hall of Famers Bret Hart and Shawn Michaels reached its first tipping point on May 19, 1997 during an episode of Raw when Michaels made inferences to an affair between the married Canadian grappler and Sunny in a cryptic promo. The on-air remarked infuriated Hart, who got physical with Shawn Michaels three weeks later at a Raw taping in Hartford, Connecticut.

The longest reigning Intercontinental Champion of all-time, The Honky Tonk Man, who was working with WWE at the time as a non-wrestling personality, recalled the backstage altercation during an interview with Great North Wrestling.

“I saw Bret Hart and Shawn Michaels down on the floor in Hartford, Connecticut, they cannot deny it happened because it did happen. They were in the locker room down on the floor, pulling at each other’s hair. They had to be separated, and it had nothing to do with professional wrestling. It had to do with a personal vendetta that they had against each other. These were just two guys who could not co-exist anymore in the same locker room. It did finally culminate to the Montreal Screwjob,” said The Honky Tonk Man.